A Bath artist has been remembering the hours he spent painting much-loved comedian Sir Ken Dodd, who has died at the age of 90.

Bath Artists Studios founder David Cobley said he had always been fascinated by the Liverpudlian entertainer, and had spent several sessions photographing and painting Dodd.

His 2004 oil on canvas portrait now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Mr Cobley, who was shortlisted for that year’s Bath-based Holburne Portrait Prize for the work, said Dodd had lived a ‘tremendous life’.

The 63-year-old said he had always wanted to paint the comic famous for his Diddymen characters, marathon live performances and distinctive appearance.

“I first came across him when I was a little boy, and was fascinated by his goggly eyes, big teeth, and his hair all over the place,” Mr Cobley said.

The portrait showed Dodd wearing a vest, which initially the comedian was anxious about, but he grew to love the work.

Mr Cobley followed Dodd around the West, painting and photographing him in Frome and Weston-super-Mare. “He was very, very generous with his time.”

Dodd allowed Mr Cobley into his dressing room, where he 'talked non-stop'.

“If I asked him a question, he did his best to answer it in his own inimitable way,” he said.

Mr Cobley watched Dodd in action from the aisles and back stage at various venues, and once made the mistake of wishing the veteran funnyman ‘good luck’ minutes before a show.

“It was a silly thing to say, and I knew it was but I had just forgotten. He said ‘break a leg, you mean…’”

The painter, who now works in Devizes, remembers plastic shopping bags overflowing with props such as Dodd’s tickling sticks filling the dressing room.

People in Bath have also been remembering Dodd’s appearances in the city.

The official description of the portrait on the London gallery’s website says the work “suggests the experience of viewing him on stage, through the performative gesture reflected in the mirror both in front and behind him, and reveals the vulnerability of the weary-looking comic.”

The Bath Chronicle runs a WhatsApp group to help you keep up to date with the latest news. If you'd like to receive news alerts, save the number 07939 497390 to your phone - we recommend saving the contact as 'Bath Chronicle News' - then send the word NEWS to us via WhatsApp. We will send you a maximum of four messages a day and your phone number won't be shared with other members of the group or used for any other purpose.